Have you ever experienced something coming true that a friend or relative told you would happen? Have you foretold something and seen it occur? Do you expect promises to be fulfilled? Do you trust God to fulfill His?
I am sure that most of us have experienced a promise being fulfilled. Perhaps it was our Dad stating he would be at our basketball game and he was there. Maybe our Mom promised to buy a new dress for us to wear on Easter and she did. It could be that we have fulfilled a promise we made.
Promises are us giving our word that we will do something in the future. Often, in our human ways, we set a specific date and time for their fulfillment. If the promise was made to us, we look forward to them coming true, especially if it is a promise that we see as good.
God makes promises as well. He has made many promises over the thousands of years. One of His promises was sending Jesus to establish a new covenant with His people. He made this promise more than five hundred years before Jesus was born. For many of us, it is unfathomable to think we might have to wait that long for a promise to be fulfilled. Yet, the nation of Israel waited.
We see in today’s passage that Daniel was provided a vision that showed the reign of Jesus forever. So, Daniel’s vision was not of Christ’s birth, but of His reign at the end of time. He saw the implementation and the result of it.
Today, we read Daniel in English and don’t think much about it being in our language. Yet, when Daniel wrote his book, it was written in two different languages. The first half, which was mostly history, was written in Aramaic, which meant the educated people throughout the known world could read it. The second half of the book, which is apocalyptic, was written in Hebrew, meaning only the Jews could read it. Today’s Scripture was originally written in Hebrew and meant for the Jews to provide them hope of a future King while they were captives in Babylon.
God’s plan has been in motion for thousands of years. He continues to execute His plan on His timeline. We continue to wait during this advent season for Jesus’ return. Daniel’s vision and prophecy are yet to be fulfilled, more than twenty-five hundred years later. We wait, much like the Jews of the Old Testament waited, for the fulfillment of God’s plan.
I pray we all wait patiently for God to fulfill His promise. I pray while we wait that we take action to bring others into the waiting room. I pray each one of us will share the good news of Jesus with others. Wait patiently. Take action while waiting. Trust God. Share Jesus. Be a light.
Daniel 7:14 “He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Marty Pressey 